Apparatus for making compressed wadding rolls



y 1944. c. A. FOURNESS ET AL 2,353,821

APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMPRESSED WADDING ROLLS Original Filed Feb. 13, 1939 5 She ets-Sheet 1 fizz/$1522 5: C/zczrZ'eJ CZ. fo'urrzesa fiuclagga jyorczz/ez v July 18, 1944. c. A. FOURNESS ET AL APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMPRESSED WADDING ROLLS Original Filed Feb. 13, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 1944- c. A. FOURNESS AL 2,353,821

APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMPRESSED WADDING ROLLS Original Filed Feb. 13, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 y18,1944. c. A. FOURNESS Em 255 3 1 APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMPRESSED WADDING ROLLS Original Filed Feb. 15, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 y 1944- c. A. FOURNESS ET AL 2,353,821

APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMPRESSED WADDING ROLLS Driginal Filed Feb. 13, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 18, 1944 APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMPRESSED WADDING ROLLS Charles A. Fourness, Appleton, and Rudolf A.

Moravek, Neenah, Wis., assignors to Paper Patents Company, a corporation of Wisconsin Original application February 13, 1939, Serial No.

256,242, now Patent No. 2,270,043, dated January 13, 1942.

Divided and this application August 8, 1941, Serial No. 405,914

11 Claims. ((1242-55) It has heretofore been known, by Letters Patent No. 1,959,418, granted May 22, 1934, to the assignee of the present application on an application. filed by Charles A. Fourness, one of the applicants herein, to wind sheets of soft padding-like material, such as uncompressed creped wadding, into the form of a roll, the advance end of the sheet being entered be tween a cylindrical core member and a moving endless belt which is drivingly engaged with the successive coils of the sheet until .the entire sheet has been wound on the core into the form of a cylindrical roll.

In the manufacture of cellulosic insulating material it has heretofore been the practice to superpose a plurality of thin sheets of creped, cellulosic tissue to form a low density pad or bat of the desired thickness, then compress the bat longitudinally in a direction substantially perpendicular to the creping in the superposed sheets while maintaining the thickness substantially uniform during the compressing operation, to form a high density intermediate product of greatly reduced bulk which may be conveniently and economically stored and shipped, and then restoring the compressor bat to substantially its original high bulk and low density condition by stretching when the same is to be used.

Several ways of efiecting this compression have been employed. According to an application of Charles A. Fourness and John B. Catlin, Serial No. 341,262 filed June 19, 1940, owned by the assignee of the present invention, the bat is compressed endwise by a baling press comprising a closed chamber of substantially the length and height of the uncompressed bat or pile of bats in which the latter is laid and a plunger reciprocable in said chamber. According to an application of Richard K. Neller, Serial No. 247,561, filed De- I cember 24, 1938, now Patent No. 2,303,087, dated November 24, 1942, owned by the assignee of the present invention, the compression is effected by causing the uncompressed bat to travel first between a pair (upper and lower) of endless belt conveyors moving at a relatively high speed, and thence into and through another similar pair of conveyors traveling at only a fraction of the speed of the first pair. The difference in speed of the two pairs of conveyors causes the bat to be compressed in the direction of its length without any substantial alteration in its thickness.

The product of both of these bat compressing methods is a fiat dense sheet or slab, which, on

account of the natural elasticity of the material,

the compressor, and hence requires to be packed and shipped to its place of use ina suitable boxof such dimensions as to prevent such re-expanf slon. Y

Now, the roll form of the product ofcomprejs handling, storage and shipment than the flat U form,especially in the case of compressed pads or bats of considerable length. But adifllculty has, prior to the present invention, been found in producing the compressed and condensed product in a roll form, owing to the tendency of the material to re-expand while it is being wound on itself into a roll. We have found that this difliculty may be overcome by employing, in a machine embodying the basic principle of the afore--' said Fourness Patent, a means for maintaining the stock on the roll, as the latter is built up during the winding operation, under a constant compression radially of the roll. We have also found that the best results are obtained by gradually increasing this compression as the roll increases in size so as to exert uniform circumferential pressure per unit area.

This application constitutes a division of our application, Serial No. 256,242, filed February 13, 1939, now Patent No. ,2 ,0 da d a a y 13, 1942, in which we have claimed the roll; and the main object of this invention has been to provide a practical and successful apparatus for making the roll and for applying to the finished roll a cover for preventing unwinding and expansion of the roll until it has reached its place ofuse. Another object has been to provide an apparatus for winding compressed pads or bats into roll form that may conveniently be used as an adjunct of the compressing apparatus forming the subject matter of the aforesaid Neller Patent No. 2,303,087, receiving the compressed pads or bats directly from the discharge end of said compressing apparatus.

' Other objects and attendant advantages of this invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the subjoined description of a preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the parts in the positions assumed at the beginning of the roll winding operation; the operating valve of the hy .draulic pressure-applying mechanism appearing partly in longitudinal section;

tends to partially re-expand when released from 05 Fig. 2 is a partial view of Fig. 1 on a larger scale and partly in vertical section showing the parts in the positions assumed at the end of the roll winding operation, including the introduction of the wrapper;

'Fig. 3 is an enlarged end elevation viewed on the line 33 of Fig. 1 broken off on the rear side of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through a clutch, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the machine modifled by beingequipped with a. weight operated pressure-applying mechanism instead of the hydraulic pressure means shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3;

Fig. 7 is an elevation of the weight operated pressure-applying mechanism viewed on line 1-1 of Fig. 6;

roll.

Referring to the drawings, the supporting structure of the winder consists of parallel side frames each comprising angle iron uprights l2 and channel-bar longitudinals l3 bolted or riveted at their intersections. An endless canvas cradle belt I4 is guided over pulley rolls I5, [6, l1 and I8 on the frame and thence over pulley rolls I9, and 2| that are journaled in and between a pair of approximately semicircular arms 22 that are pivotally mounted at '23 on a pair of upright brackets 24, themselves mounted on the side frames. The pulley roll IT is a tension. pulley, controlled as hereinafter explained, for applying tension to the belt l4. The pivot of roll I9 is axially coincident with the pivot 23 of the arms 22, as shown in Fig. 3. Between the rolls 2| and I5 a loop 24' of the belt l4 partly encircles a cylindrical core 25 that may be a floating member, although, to insure the winding of a perfectly round wadding roll, and avoid an oblong form of roll, the ends of the core 25 carry pintles 26 that are slidably supported on horizontal rails 2! mounted on posts 28 stepped on the upper longitudinals I3 of the side frames. These rails 21 also serve as side plates or guards to keep the wadding roll from working out of the belt'loop in a sidewise direction. 7

The roll I5 is the driving pulley of the belt, and a drive for this roll, which may be both a power and a manual drive, consists of a power driven sprocket chain 29 trained over a sprocket wheel 30 (Figs. 1, 3 and 4) loose on the spindle [5' or pulley l5 and formed with a. clutch face 3|, a hand crank 32 loose on the outer end of spindle l5, and formed with a clutch face 33 on its hub, a slidable clutch block 34 splined on spindle [5' formed on one end with a clutch face 35 (Fig. 4) for engagement with the sprocket clutch face 3| and on its other end with a clutch face 36 (Fig. 3) for engagement with the crank clutch face 33, and a shifting lever 31 for the clutch block 34.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, the spindles H of the tension pulley. I! are each journaled in a plate 38 that carries on its outer side upper and lower pairs of grooved rollers 39 riding on horizontal angle bar tracks 46 supported on the Side frames by brackets 4|. The pulley H can thus I travel inwardly under the pull of the loop of Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the completed the :belt engaged thereby as the diameter of the roll increases during the winding operation.

The spindles of pulley [6 are journalled in bearings such as indicated at II which are slidably mounted on guides such as shown at It".

intake side of which communicates with an oil reservoir 43. From the discharge side of the pump a pipe line 44 leads to the casing 45 of a distributing valve 46 which may be ported as shown in Fig. 1. The valve 46 is shifted by a" hand lever 41. Before starting up, the distributing valve and its lever will be in the neutral position shown in full lines, and if the pump is operating, the oil will merely flow back to the reservoir through duct 48 of the valve, and return lines 43 and 56. After about one wrap of wadding has been wound around the core 25, the operator shifts the lever 41 to the dotted line operating position, which puts the valve in the pressure position, in which return line 43 is cut oil, and duct 5| of the valve is brought into register with a line 52 that communicates with a line 53 leading into the outer orrear end of a. motor cylinder 54. The plunger stem 55 of the motor cylinder carries on its fre end a cross bar 56 (Figs. 1 and 3), to each end of which is attached an upstanding arm 5'I, on which is mounted a plate 58 (Fig. 3) attached to the rear side of plate 38. One of the plates38 carries a pair of upwardly divergent arms 53 that are attached to and support a cam 60 having a length substantially equal to the stroke of the plunger of the motor cylinder More oil is pumped to the cylinder 54 than the cylinder can take, and the remainder backs up through a line 6| continuous with the line 53, into the upper end of a pressure regulating valve 62, which is shown in vertical section in Fig. 9. and is a known commercial article. This valve includes a plunger valve 63 pressed onto its seat 64 by a thrust spring 65, the lower end of the spring being seated on the upper end of a stem 66, which carries on its lower end a roller 61 that rides on the cam 60. To adjust the initial pressure of the spring 65 the valve stem 66 may be made in two sections the adjacent ends of which are oppositely threaded, as shown in Fig. 2, and are engaged by a. nut 68, by turning which the stem may be lengthened or shortened. In the valve casing just below the valve seat 64 is a chamber 69, and tapping this chamber is a low pressure return line 10 connected at its other end to the line 50, and, through the latter to the oil reservoir 43. To prevent a vacuum on the plunger-stem side of the plunger of the motor cylinder 54, a line H leads from the inner or front end of the cylinder to, and communicates with, the return line 16. Thus, the lines 10, 1| and 50 are at all times low pressure lines.

As the winding of the roll proceeds, the tension roll II, the cam 60 and the piston of the motor cylinder travel toward th right, viewing Fig. 1; and the pressure regulating. valve 62, under the increasing thrust of its spring 55 on plunger valve 63 caused by cam ll, increasingly throttles the flow of oil into the low pressure chamber 69,,and this increases the pressure of the oil resisting the backward travel of the motor piston. and this, in turn, increases the tension of the belt and the compression of the roll by the belt.

It may here be remarked that the pump 42 is a constant volume type; that is, it delivers a substantially constant volume of oil at all pressures. The pump is also so designed that the maximumoil pressure on the system is limited by a regulator in the pump itself. Thus, even though the pressure regulating valve should be completelyclosed by the cam, the hydraulicpressure on the system is limited to the maximum pump pressure.

When the sheet of wadding has been fully wound into a roll. as shown in Fig. 2, the power drive of the belt is arrested by shifting the clutch I4 outwardly into engagement with the hub of the crank 32. a sheet P of stout paper is fed in and passed around the roll of compressed wadding by turning the crank, and a second short sheet or strip P coated with paste on its upper side is then fed in to fasten together th ends of the main sheet P, producing the completed roll of compressed wadding shown in Fig. 11.

After the wadding roll has reached full size and been wrapped as above described, the lever 41 is shifted to the neutral position shown in full lines in Fig. l. The only hydraulic pressure then on the piston is that due to the oil locked in lines GI, 53 and 52. In order to reduce this pressure to zero it is necessary to open one of these lines to the return side of the pump. This may be done by opening a normally closed valve 12 in a line 13 connecting line 6! to lin 10.

During the winding of the roll the free ends of the arms 22 are locked down by a pair of links 14 (Fig. that are connected at their upper ends to the arms 22 by pivot pins 15, and

on the rear side of post It. To the upper end of the chain 86 is attached a cord ll that passes over pulley ll. thence downwardly on the front at their lower ends are slidably mounted on headed studs I6 mounted in brackets I1 attached to the upper longitudinals ll of the side frames. the outer end of the pins 15 being threaded to receive nuts 18. The wound and wrapped roll is removed from the winder by removing the nuts I8, shifting the links 14 clear of the pins 15, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5, and then swinging the arms 22 back, this action being aided by a counterbalance weight 19. The arms 22 are then returned to and locked in the normal working position shown, a new core shaft 25 is put in, the valve 12 is closed, another sheet of wadding is presented to the winder, the control lever 41 is moved to the operating position. the piston of the motor cylinder 54 is forced back to starting position, which carries the tension roll I! and cam back to starting position (Fig. 1), the power drive is applied by shifting clutch 34 into driven engagement with sprocket 33. and a new cycle is started.

In Figs. 6, 7 and '8' we show a weight system substituted for the hydraulic system above described for tensioning the belt and compressing the wadding roll as it is being wound. A vertical post '0 at one side of the machine has journaled on its upper end apulley 8|, and on its lower portion is a bearing bracket 82 in which is journaled a shaft 83. Keyed on shaft 83 is a sprocket wheel 84 and a pony brak drum '5. A sprocket chain 86 is attached at its lower end to the carriage of the tension roll l1, and passes thence over sprocket N, and thence upwardly side of post 80, and supports at its lower end a weight .8. Attached to the post 80 is a lower' pair of horizontal arms I! that support a weight N, and an upper pair of horizontal arms 9| of greater spread that support a weight 92. The cord 81 passes freely through central vertical holes in the weights 90 and 92. The weight II is sufnciently narrow to pass between th arms I, and the weight 90 is sufliciently narrow to pass between the arms 9| To produce equal pulls on both ends of the tension roll II, this weight system is duplicated on the other side of the machine.

As the roll of wadding builds up, the belt is at first tensioned by the weights 88 alone. As soon as weights 8. pick up weights 90 the belt is tensioned by the combined weight of weights II and 90; and as soon as weights 90 pick up weights 92 the belt is tensioned by the combined weight of all three pairs of weights. A more gradual and more nearly uniform increase in the belt tension and consequent pressure on the roll as it is wound obviously could be obtained by using a greater number of individual weights in the manner described.

When the roll has been fully wound, the weights are temporarily held in elevated position by applying the brake by pressure on the brake pedal 85' (Figs. 7 and 8), the rollis wrapped, the arms '22 are thrown back, the roll is removed. the arms are returned to operating position and connected to the links I4, and a new coreshaft is put in, all as above described. in connection with the hydraulic system. The weights are then eased down by manipulating the pedal brake, which restores the tension roll I! to the starting poslition shown in Fig. 6, and this completes the eye e. a

This weight system for compressing the wadding roll during winding, while not as uniform and perfect as the hydraulic system, gives satisfactory results, especially in the case of the so-called "black" wadding (wadding impregnated with asphalt and-used mostly for insulation), since this black wadding can be wound up under a light constant tension, it even being unnecessary to use a cumulative weight system, where the wadding has been deadened by moist air blown' wound, the convolutions being pressed on each other radially of the roll; and the cover P, when applied, maintains the roll against unwinding and against expansion of the material of the roll.

In rolling compressed white wadding the belt must be kept under considerable tension to prevent reexpansion of the wadding roll. This tends to squeeze the core and wadding rearwardly and wedge the latter in the gap between the roll II and the belt driving roll IS. A modification designed to correct this tendency is illustrated in Fig. 10, wherein the belt driving pulley roll I!" rotates in the reverse direction, the roll it is As before stated, the roll winding apparatus of 7 this invention has been designed more particularly as an adjunct of the wadding compressor forming the subject matter of the Neller application, Serial No. 247,561, being connected on to the discharge end of the Neller wadding compressor, so that the compressing of the wadding and the winding of the compressed product into the form of a roll ready for storage or shipment may form one continuous operation. Accordingly, in Figs. 1, 2 and 6 we have fragmentarily i1- lustrated the discharge end of the slow conveyor of the 'Neller compressor through which the compressed-"wadding pads or sheets travel. 95 and 96 designate the upper and lower belts of the slow conveyor trained over rear end drum pulleys 91 and 98 respectively. From the discharge end of the slow conveyor the compressed wadding travels between flat, stationary upper and lower transfer plates 99 and Hill through the throat of the winder where it is caught in the nip of the winder belt and core and wound on the latter, as shown in Fig. '1. The shaft 98' of the drum pulley 98 is power driven through its belt 96, and fast on this shaft is a sprocket wheel II that, through the chain 29, transmits power to the winder.

When the wadding is being rolled up. the.

winder belt is operated at a speed slightly faster than that of the slow conveyor of the compressor. This can be effected by making the diameter of pulley l5 slightly larger than that of pulley 98. This eliminates any tendency of the wadding to buckle and jam at the point where it enters between the transfer plates 99, I90, since its tendency to re-expand is partly counter-balanced by the increased speed of the winder; and the extension of the upper transfer plate 99 to the throat of the winder also contributes to check the re-expanding tendency.

The practical and economic advantages of this product and the apparatus for producing it are marked. Substantial savings in shipping costs over soft wound rolls such as are produced by the Fourness Patent No. 1,959,418, are realized.

Baled flat compressed wadding, such as is produced by the machine of the Fourness and Catlin application, 'Serial No. 114,590, now abandoned, is not suitable for use in the manufacture of sanitary napkins because the individual bats are much too short for handling in sanitary napkin making machines. Perhaps th greatest advantage of the roll product and the apparatus for producing it lies in the fact both the roll product and the apparatus make possible the production of compressed wadding in lengths of nine feet or more. Packaging white wadding of such lengths in roll form makes it practicable for use in sanitary napkin machines wherein the short pads for individual napkins are cut successively froma continuous length of wadding stock, and packaging impregnated insulating wadding of such lengths in roll form instead of bales spells a considerable saving to the consumer, since it makes it possible for him to cut of! from. the roll the exact length of insulation needed.

Changes in the structural details herein shown and described may be made without departing from the operative principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. Hence, we reserve all such variations, modifications, and mechanical equivalents as fall within the spirit and purview of the claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for winding an endwise com pressed sheet of cellulosic tissue into the form of a roll, comprising, in combination, an endless belt, guide pulleys for said belt, means for driving said belt, a core member engaged with and rotated by a loop of said belt, means for directing the advance end of said sheet into the nip of said core member and belt to eil'ect winding of said sheet on said core member, and hydraulic means for applying tension to said belt and for automatically, gradually, increasing the tension thereon as the roll winds up, thereby to approximate maintenance of a constant pressure per unit area on the surface of the gradually enlarging roll.

2. Apparatus for winding an endwise compressed sheet of cellulosic tissue into the form of a roll, comprising, in combination, an endless belt, guide pulleys for said belt, means for driving said belt, a core member engaged with and rotated by a loop of said belt, means for directing the advance end of said sheet into the nip of said core member and belt to effect winding of said sheet on said core member, and weight-operated means for applying tension to said belt and for automatically, gradually, increasing the tension thereon as the roll winds up, thereby to approximate maintenance of a constant pressure per unit area on the surface of the gradually enlarging roll.

3. Apparatus for winding an endwise compressed sheet of cellulosic tissue into the form of a roll, comprising, in combination, an endless belt, guide pulleys for said belt, means for driving said belt, a core member engaged with and rotated by a loop of said belt, means for directing the advance end of said sheet into the nip of said core member and belt, and hydraulic means for applying tension to said belt, said hydraulic means including a fluid pressure regulator and automatic means controlling the same through which an increasing tension is a 11 as the roll winds up. pp ed said belt 4. Apparatus for winding an endwise compressed sheet of cellulosic tissue into the form of a roll, comprising, in combination, an endless belt. uide pulleys for said belt, means for driving said belt, a core member engaged with and rotated by a loop of said belt, means for directing the advance end of said sheet into the nip of said core member and belt, and weight-operated means for applying tension to said belt, said weight-operated means including automatic means through which a cumulatively increasing tension is applied to said belt as the roll winds up.

5. Apparatus for winding an endwise compressed sheet of cellulosic tissue into the form of a roll, comprising, in combination, an endless belt, guide pulleys for said belt, means for driving said belt, a coremember engaged with and rotated by a loop of said belt, means for directing the advance end of said sheet into the nip of said core member and belt, and weight-operated means for applying tension to said belt, said weight-operated means including a plurality of weights successively brought into action autoassasa ture, pulley rolls Journaled on said supporting matically to increase the tension of said belt as the roll winds up.

6. Apparatus for winding an endwise compressed sheet or cellulosic tissue into the form of a roll, comprising, in combination, an endless belt, guide pulleys for said belt, means for driving said belt, a core member engaged with and rotated by a loop of said belt, means for directing the advance end of said sheet into the nip of said core member and belt, a bodily movable belt tensioning roll engaged with said belt, and hydraulic means, including an automatically controlled fluid pressure regulator, operating through said belt-tensioning roll to apply an increasing tension to said belt during the winding of said sheet. v 7. Apparatus for winding an endwise compressed sheet of cellulosic tissue into the form of a roll, comprising, in combination, an endless belt, guide pulleys for said belt, means for driving said belt, a core member engaged with and rotated by a loop of said belt, means for directing the advance end of said sheet into the nip or said core member and belt, a bodily movable belt tensioning roll engaged with said belt, and gravity means, including a plurality of weights successively brought into action automatically, operating through said belt-tensioning roll to apply a cumulatively increasing tension to said belt during the winding of said sheet.

8. In a winder for winding an endwise compressed sheet of creped wadding into a roll, the combination of a frame, an endless belt, means carried by said frame for supporting and driving said belt, a core member engaged with and rotated by a loop of said belt and having pintles extending endwise from its ends, rails mounted on said frame for receiving said pintles to support said core independently of said belt loop, and means for directing said sheet endwise into the nip of said core member and belt.

9. In a winder for winding an endwise compressed sheet of creped wadding into the former a roll, the combination or a supporting strucstructure,-an endless belt trained over said pulley rolls, means for driving one of said pulley rolls to thereby drive said belt, a core member engaged with and rotated by a loop of said belt intermediate a pair of said pulley rolls, said pair of pulley rolls being so spaced that the distance between the belt 1 portions thereon approximately equals the thickness of the compressed sheet, said pair of pulley rolls and the belt portions thereon constituting means for guiding the sheet into the trip of said core and belt while maintaining the sheet substantially in its normal compressed condition.

10. In a winder for winding an endwise compressed sheet of'creped wadding into a roll, the combination of a frame, conveyor means delivering said sheet at a predetermined speed, an endless belt,means carried by said frame for supporting and driving said belt at a predetermined speed slightly greater than the speed of delivery of the sheet, a core member engaged with and rotated by a loop of said belt, said core member and belt ioop'cooperating to receive and routine sheet between them, the greater speed of travel of the winding belt serving to prevent jamming oi the wadding during its passage from said conveyor means-to said winding belt and core.

11. Apparatus for winding an endwise compressed sheet of cellulosic tissue into the form 01' a roll, comprising an endless belt, guide pulleys for said belt, means for driving said belt, a core member engaged with and rotated by a loop of said belt, means for directing the said sheet endwise into the nip of said core-member and belt, to effect winding of said sheet on said core member, and means for tensioning said-belt and for automatically, gradually, increasing the tension thereon as the roll winds up, thereby to approximate maintenance of a constant pressure per unit area on the surface of the gradually enlarging roll.

, CHARLES A. FOURNESS. RUDOLF' A. MORAVEK. 

